I installed the soft-faced bolt in March of 2004 to cut down on my number of breech-breaks. I noticed that the Angel Speed instantly improved its performance on practice paint, breaking far less than the stock bolt. On decent paint, the Angel has yet to break a painball in the breech.

I have fired nearly 100 cases of paint through the marker with this bolt now. I have only had one or two breaks in the breech.

I am noticing that this bolt is beginning to wear quite a bit. It is developing nasty grooves and slots. I lubricate after every day's play, but it still wears. Maybe it's service life, maybe the angel is getting old enough where it is getting 'loose' and the bolt travel is sloppy.

Conclusion:

Anybody wanting to try an upgraded bolt for, in my experience an Angel Speed, should definitely try this bolt. It is an exceptional product.

Yeah, you're right Naxis, you're not supposed to lube the soft face bolt. The bolt itself is made of delrin, which was introduced by DuPont a while back. Although it is insoluble to water ( water resistant), it will, however, swell up if you put oil on it. This swelling is what caused all of the scratch marks on the bolt. I have an 05 speed myself, with the stock soft face bolt, and I have found that just wiping the bolt down after use will do. Also, if you break a ball in the breech be sure to wipe the paint off of the bolt, as this will probably cause the bolt to swell as well.